Particles, conjugations and endings for verbs and adjectives, and general sentence structure.
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2answers
167 views
What's the difference between 〜に対しての and 〜に対する?
The question understanding 対する details [noun]に対する[noun], but what is the difference between [noun]に対しての[noun] and [noun]に対する[noun]?
Space ALC has a fair number of examples for both に対する and に対しての ...
2
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1answer
149 views
Past tense of なし in Classical Japanese?
Is it なしかりたらず as a usual し adjective? Or is it something weirder? I need this for a skit.
3
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2answers
240 views
Why is this guy hesitant to call and ask her out on a date?
This is a section of text from my JLPT textbook on page 33:
...
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1answer
91 views
meaning of から in following sentence
Tell me please, what is から means in the following sentence?
本当のところを言うと、この時間に悠馬さんがここを通るからと、夏目さんに教えてもらったので、待っていたんです。
Thank you very much for help!
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1answer
190 views
Interpretation of て+もらえる
In the beginning of the music video for "Guns for Hands" by Twenty One Pilots (EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmv8aQKO6k0), there's some subtitles:
君だって気付いてもらえないよ
It gets translated as ...
5
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2answers
204 views
Which verb receives a negation in a Japanese sentence?
I can say 歩いて渡る which translates to "to cross by walking". However, if I would like to say "I am not going to cross by walking, but by some other means", would I say
歩かないで渡る or 歩いて渡らない?
There are ...
3
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2answers
240 views
Fooling honest people, or honest people look foolish?
Clearly I'm still struggling with the use of ばかを見る, which I have asked about before.
This sentence appears in a question in my JLPT textbook:
正直者{しょうじきもの}がばかをみない 社会{しゃかい}であるべきだ。
Based on the ...
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1answer
234 views
Can に mean the same thing as から?
あの野郎、どんだけジークさんに恩を受けたと思っていやがるんだ！
In this sentence, does に mean the same thing as から ?
Thank you very much for help!
4
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1answer
142 views
How are these two sentences not negating their premise?
In my JLPT textbook, 日本語総まとめＮ１読解, on page17, there are these two sentences (which are both part of a larger paragraph, but I hope I have included enough):
...
4
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1answer
122 views
What is a good synonym for「〜のに」at the end of a sentence?
I'm trying to come up with a good synonymous expression to put on a flashcard for 「〜のに」at the end of a sentence like these
彼が出て行けばいいのに。(I wish he would go.)
あの建物さえなければ、きれいな景色が見えるのに。(If it wasn't for ...
5
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2answers
191 views
What is a better translation for 「自分だけバカを見る」?
I have this phrase in my JLPT textbook, as one example of the use of バカ:
自分{じぶん}だけバカを見{み}る
The translation offered in the book is:
Waste time and money among others
The English is both ...
4
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2answers
218 views
The topic is the restaurant, or the conversation is at the restaurant?
I have this sentence in my JLPT textbook:
話{はなし}の種{たね}に、新{あたら}しくできたレストランに食{た}べに行{い}ってみた。
I think I understand the part after the comma, which I believe is saying, "... tried to go eat at the new ...
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1answer
174 views
どうか, どうにか, どうかして - differences?
I was just wondering what the essential differences are between these and how I would use them in everyday speech. Thank you.
6
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1answer
106 views
Cohortative ましょう with and without the auxiliary construction ～てみる
In "何かしてみましょう。" meaning "Let's try/do something.", what is the literal translation of "してみましょう"? I've got "して" means "doing" and "みましょう" means "let's watch or let's?".
How is "してみましょう" different ...
4
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1answer
186 views
Why are い-adjectives often used as nouns?
I can't really understand why sometimes い adjectives are transformed to nouns instead of just being used themselves.
I.E.
白い鳥 has 300,000 google hits while 白の鳥 has 4 million.
近い家 has 113,000 ...
2
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1answer
174 views
The uses & etymology of で
In Japanese, the particle で seems to have multiple uses:
Instrumental: 車{くるま}で大阪{おおさか}に行{い}った。 "I went to Osaka by car."
Locative: 図書館{としょかん}で数学{すうがく}を勉強{べんきょう}している。 "I'm studying math in the ...
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1answer
239 views
Can うちは means the same as うちに ?
Tell me please in the sentence below, can うちは means the same as うちに? Or it's just うち like "we" ?
Thank you very much for help!
5
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3answers
182 views
What is くん doing in these sentences?
I have come across two sentences in a manga that is using くん in a way that I can't seem to find any information on, in both my books and online. I am guessing this may be some sort of slang, odd ...
2
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2answers
294 views
How can a friendly person be “hard to approach”?
I have this phrase in my JLPT textbook:
私{わたし}の上司{じょうし}は気{き}さくで近寄{ちかよ}りがたい
My translation, which must be incorrect in some way, is, "my superior is hard to approach as he/she is friendly." It ...
5
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1answer
179 views
What is the meaning of から here?
Tell me please, what から means in his sentence? If I'm guessing corrctly it would translate something like "She fall on her face really hard", but still... would ”顔面に全力で” be incorrect here?
Sentence: ...
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1answer
131 views
When to use にしたら when to use には?
I don't get the difference in meaning between には and にしたら like in this sentence from my textbook:
大きすぎる親の期待は、子供にしたら苦痛だ。
Expectations of parents that are too big become agony for the children.
...
3
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1answer
194 views
Help me please with やらなればならない
Tell me please what is the meaning of やらなればならない, maybe it's やらなければならない but still...
Full sentence: 国がやらなればならない全てのことを、不蝕金鎖が担い、一定の秩序をつくりあげたのだ。
Thank you very much for the help!
3
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1answer
131 views
Combining two い-adjectives without using て
In the JLU chat, Flaw recently typed up some instructions printed on a Japanese product. Here's what they said:
直射日光の当たらない涼しい所に保管してください
It appears that 所 is modified by two phrases:
...
6
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3answers
280 views
what exactly does the suffix とはいえ mean?
I came across the structure [V simple-past]とはいえ、、、、 and I can't figure out exactly what it means.
I found this いえ is 言え, and it means the same as とは言うものの...Which I don't really understand perfectly ...
7
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3answers
410 views
What exactly does とばかりに mean?
My JLPT textbook has a section on the use of ～とばかりに. It explains that the term means to do something with such a strong implication that the meaning is obvious, even though one isn't directly stating ...
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3answers
144 views
What words/structures indicate an argument? (e.g. Therefore, as a result, there's strong reason to believe (x) , etc.) [closed]
To me, once of the most important parts of learning a language is the ability to read the implied message behind someone's words, and part of that is knowing when they're making a point and they're ...
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2answers
118 views
What separates the different ways to ask a question in Japanese?(I.E. 何, どう, どんな and so on)
It's been something I've thinking about for awhile, but could never answer in a more concrete way. This is most apparent when I compare the functions of 何 and どう. I know that 何, どう and どんな are great ...
5
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1answer
107 views
知っとった meaning of grammar?
What does the grammar form of 知るin the below sentence mean?
闇の世界とは関わるはずがないと知っとったんだろうな
The sentence is from the Japanese version of Harry Potter I
6
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1answer
133 views
How to express “with (x) as well” and “even with (x)”
I am trying to express something akin to these sentences:
Even with a spoon, he digs well (でも?)
Even without a shovel, he digs well
I would also like to express this:
With a shovel ...
4
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3answers
225 views
What does ものでして mean?
I can't manage to understand the meaning of ものでして.
An example using a full sentence could be the following:
私はしばらく、隠棲していたものでしてね。まあ怠けているのは今に始まったことでもなし・・・
3
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2answers
147 views
Help with question word だれ
Every example I see with だれ and a copula has だれ placed at the end (あの方はだれですか。) Will changing the order to だれがあの方ですか。be acceptable or mean something else?
Also, how do I write "Who has A car?" I ...
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1answer
111 views
What does the phrase んと流す mean?
Meaning of んと流す
Can anyone please explain the meaning of 得させんとながす to me.
Full sentence: 多くの人のために、罪の赦し得させんとながすものなり。
http://s.vndb.org/sf/25/36025.jpg
Thanks you very much for the help!
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1answer
111 views
Can より be used differently than saying “b more x than a”?
I could not find any examples of this usage, but what I'm basically asking is whether or not this is possible:
怒るより悲しいですよ
Rather than being mad, I am sad
Is this a legitimate way of using ...
13
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1answer
252 views
what is the difference between ごとに and おきに?
Both ごとに and おきに appear to mean "repeatedly at intervals".
What is the difference between these two expressions?
4
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1answer
216 views
What does として mean here?
警視庁は１２日、父親を鈍器のようなもので殴ったとして東京都中野区に住む少年を、傷害の疑いで逮捕した。
Tell me please, what is として means in this sentence ?
7
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1answer
287 views
Does the nominalizer 〜の require the adnominal form before it? If yes, why?
A while back I was trying to break down 〜なの, and this is what I decided on (with the help of some of Bart Mathias's posts on mailing lists).
My hypothesis is that the nominalizer 〜の requires ...
3
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1answer
166 views
What's the meaning of “という” at the end of a sentence?
I'm reading about this grammar in my book but I don't get it. According to the book it means - そうだ and - らしい. Here is an example:
UPDATE: Full Sentence:
従来、病院といえば白い壁が基調の空間であった。 しかし、白くて冷たい壁を見ていると ...
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0answers
121 views
Casual speech particles in Classical Japanese
I'm writing a simple Japanese skit for our JAPAN 112R class and there is a place where an ancient samurai needs to speak a few sentences of Classical Japanese. I can mostly make the sentences, but it ...
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4answers
630 views
Does Vて+いる always mean an action already completed?
For the longest time, I thought that a verb ending in て+いる meant that one was currently doing an action, similar to how we use ~ing in English to mean a contuinuing state. So 食{た}べている means "eating".
...
3
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1answer
166 views
What is the meaning of ようで?
I think ようで means "to look/look like", but I'm having trouble understanding it in the context of this sentence:
感動に水を差すようで悪いのだが、さっさと爾子に乗ってくれ。でなくば、城とともに潰れるぞ。
Also, is でなくば another form of でなければ?
2
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1answer
112 views
Joining adjectives with し before a noun
A recent question asked about joining two adjectives together. It used the following example:
(example 1) きれいで静かな町
As I understand it, this is the combination of the 連用形 of きれいだ with the 連体形 of ...
2
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1answer
101 views
What's the difference between the constructs (adverb) なる[naru] and (adverb)する[suru]?
e.g. what makes 相手になる different from 相手にする. I know that 「～になる」 is to be/become something, and 「～をする」 is to do something, but what does each imply when used?
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1answer
123 views
How do I use がする? (ex: いい香りがする)
I know the basic usage behind it, like saying "I wanna have lunch at Wendy's today", but I feel like there's a bunch of subtleties to it that I'm not really seeing yet
5
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1answer
92 views
Expressing a sequence of actions using 〜たとき?
I am aware that one can explain that to things happen at the same time using plain non past form + とき:
電車に乗るとき転びました。"I fell when I got on the train (I was going through the door when it happened)" ...
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1answer
220 views
までに, まえに and うちに to express “before doing sth/sth happens”
I've come across this sentence:
主人が帰ってくる までに 晩御飯の買い物と支度をしなければいけません.
a) I would have used まえに instead of までに. Is it correct? How does the meaning change?
b) Furthermore, is it correct to say : ...
6
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2answers
113 views
Can んだった and んじゃなかった be used like the past version of んだ and んじゃない?
I know that んだった and んじゃなかった can be used to say "Should have done" and "Shouldn't have done". I am wondering, however, if they can be used as a past version of んだ
Take for example this conversation:
...
4
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1answer
161 views
Question on expressing a half-completed action — 動作が中途である状態
手紙を書きかけたんですが、まだ書いていません。
I got started on the letter, but I haven't finished writing it yet.
The ending かける indicates that an action has been started but has not been brought to a finish or ...
0
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2answers
221 views
Why is this sentence grammatically incorrect?
On a separate question about Japanese pitch, one of the examples I left was:
'甘美（うまみ）の花は赤を見える' (Your flower looks red [talking to Umami]).
One of the commenters claimed that it was ...
4
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1answer
203 views
When should the polite form of 〜たり be used?
I've noticed that I don't see 〜ましたり used very often, but it does seem to be an accepted form. I believe this form can be broken down like this: 動詞{どうし}の連用形{れんようけい}＋「ます」の連用形{れんようけい}＋「たり」
My ...
4
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2answers
369 views
Plural in ancient Japanese?
It is known to Japanese learners that the Japanese verb isn't affected by the subject (number or gender). Today, a linguistics professor of my university told me he heard from his teacher that ancient ...
